On Saturday, September 4th 2004, two exhibits were inaugurated at the Sacred Mount of Oropa: All’arrivo: emozioni e volti di pellegrini(On Arrival: the Emotions and the Faces of Pilgrims) and Luoghi e vie di pellegrinaggio. I Sacri Monti del Piemonte e della Lombardia (Places and Routes of Pilgrimage.The Sacred Mounts of Piemonte and Lombardia).

The shows were promoted by the Piemonte Region, in collaboration with the Museo das Peregrinacións of Santiago de Compostela, and from Oropa, they were transferred to the Sacred Mount of Varese, where, from October 16th to November 14th 2004, they were a feature of the International Convention: Religioni e Sacri Monti (Religions and Sacred Mounts).

The photograph exhibit, All’arrivo: emozioni e volti di pellegrini, offered a selection of pictures of the Galician photographer, Jacobo Remuñán. Born in Santiago de Compostela in 1960, this artist was able to capture in his photographs the human feelings that flow from the most intimate essence of pilgrims at the precise instant when they finally reach the objective of their desires: their meeting with the square of the Obradoiro and the Cathedral of Santiago. When pilgrims arrive at this concrete point, all their feelings are finally released: Jacobo Remuñán was able to catch these emotions and mould them with skill and insight to share them with the “spectators” of those instants.

The Galician photographer collected the pictures of many pilgrims, most of them anonymous. His intention is to capture in their attitudes, in their faces and in their expressions something more than a simple portrait. The ethnic plurality and diversity of the pilgrims, the different ways they arrive at their destination, and the feelings of happiness and admiration they express at the instant of their arrival, are some of the unforgettable features of the exhibit of this surprising author.